Definition

One must make a distinction however: when dragged into prominence by half poets, the result is not poetry, nor till the autocrats among us can be “literalists of the imagination”—above insolence and triviality and can present for inspection, imaginary gardens with real toads in them, shall we have it.

Thursday, June 15, 2017

Of Insomnia and Sleep

Dante Gabriel Rossetti was born 12 May 1828 in London. He divided his attention between painting and poetry and founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, which sought to introduce new forms of thematic seriousness, high coloration, and attention to detail into contemporary British art. As I was reading some of Rossetti's poetry, I came across "Insomnia", a poem that completely blew me away.

Insomnia

Thin are the night-skirts left behind

By daybreak hours that onward creep,

And thin, alas! the shred of sleep

That wavers with the spirit's wind:

But in half-dreams that shift and roll

And still remember and forget,

My soul this hour has drawn your soul

A little nearer yet.

Our lives, most dear, are never near,

Our thoughts are never far apart,

Though all that draws us heart to heart

Seems fainter now and now more clear.

To-night Love claims his full control,

And with desire and with regret

My soul this hour has drawn your soul

A little nearer yet.

Is there a home where heavy earth

Melts to bright air that breathes no pain,

Where water leaves no thirst again

And springing fire is Love's new birth?

If faith long bound to one true goal

May there at length its hope beget,

My soul that hour shall draw your soul

For ever nearer yet.

Have you ever found yourself lying awake in bed at night, waiting for sleep to come, when your brain refuses to shut its mouth and thoughts of every angle and shape that plagues it? I have often found myself unable to sleep at night. There is just so much to do!

For today's challenge, I want you to write a poem about insomnia. Your poem doesn't necessarily have to be serious, it can be light-hearted too. Choose your own form or write in free verse, if preferred. I look forward to reading what you guys come up with.

The link doesn't expire, so please feel free to write more than one poem. Please do visit others and remember to comment on their poems. Have fun!

16 comments:

I love this prompt, Sanaa! Insomnia is something I have written about quite often. I'm afraid my poem is brief as I have a busy day ahead of me - it's exam marking season and I don't want to get behind with my quota!

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